Wish me luck!

[MeowMeow]

So waaaayyy back when I was 11 I had my ears pierced at the mall with a gun. Like many of us did. Maybe 7 to 10 years later one closed and I was too chicken to have it redone. So I left it for I dunno. Maybe another 5 to 10 years (time is screwy for me lmao.) But still had one hole as of 2 or 3 years ago. Welp. Checked a few days ago. Have 0 holes now. So I gathered my courage and went into a tattoo shop and had them redone. The piercer says 2x a day soap and water wash and that's all for 12 weeks. So... Following his instructions. And here's the luck part. Wish me luck that I won't get any infections and that these ******* won't close this time. I want to wear pretty earrings too!!! XD

 

[stracci2000]

The wide world of earrings awaits you!

 

[Karl_K]

Best of luck to you!!!!
I wont tell you about the time I had to take some peroxide and pliers to remove an earring from the ear of a friends daughter.
Lets just say it put old faithful to shame.

 

[MeowMeow]

The wide world of earrings awaits you!

I am hoping so!!

Best of luck to you!!!!
I wont tell you about the time I had to take some peroxide and pliers to remove an earring from the ear of a friends daughter.
Lets just say it put old faithful to shame.

Oh man! That is exactly what I am afraid of lol. I'm worried I got lucky with 0 issues last time around and won't be again.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Everything I read says don't use the mall guns. I had one reopened and one new one done at two different tattoo places, both shops were extremely clean. Just soap and water, took forever to heal but no infections.

 

[RMOO]

Best of luck to you!!!!
I wont tell you about the time I had to take some peroxide and pliers to remove an earring from the ear of a friends daughter.
Lets just say it put old faithful to shame.

I would have passed out!

 

[dk168]

Best of luck!

When I had mine done at 11yo, the old lady who did it rubbed my earlobe in turn with a piece of ginger until it was very hot and numb, then bam she pierced it with the sharp end of a sleeper earring.

Once she closed the earring, she applied Mercurochrome to the piercing, gave me the instruction to turn the earring occasionally, and to continue to apply the red antiseptic for a few days.

So I walked around with the red stuff on my ears!

DK

 

[Calliecake]

The wide world of earrings awaits you!

@stracci2000, said it all above. Have fun!

 

[MamaBee]

Best of luck!

When I had mine done at 11yo, the old lady who did it rubbed my earlobe in turn with a piece of ginger until it was very hot and numb, then bam she pierced it with the sharp end of a sleeper earring.

Once she closed the earring, she applied Mercurochrome to the piercing, gave me the instruction to turn the earring occasionally, and to continue to apply the red antiseptic for a few days.

So I walked around with the red stuff on my ears!

DK

People probably thought you were bleeding!

 

[MamaBee]

Do you have any earrings in the piercings now? A long time ago you would put in little gold ball posts until they were healed.
I’m excited for you!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i had an issue like Karl's post, first time around
i could not move my head it was so painful
except the doctor didnt want to take them out till the antibiotics had reduced some swelling

the next time i got them done i took the advice of an older friend and a week after the piercing by gun at the jewler i removed the studs and put some small round silver keepers in
it was a bit fiddly with a fresh wound but it was so much eaiser to cleanand i would twist them 2 or 3 times a day and i had no further issue

i also did this years latter with my 2nd and 3rd ear piercings

but covid has not been good to my piercings
masks and earings i have found to be just too hard and too risky

 

[MeowMeow]

Everything I read says don't use the mall guns. I had one reopened and one new one done at two different tattoo places, both shops were extremely clean. Just soap and water, took forever to heal but no infections.

Oh I agree lol. But I was 11 and my grandmother was the one who decided I needed it done and took me so there wasn't a choice back then. I don't think she would have taken me to a tattoo shop if her life had depended on it lmao. But I feel much differently. If my daughter wants to pierce her ears that's where we are going. A tattoo shop or a doctors office where everything can be nice and sterile and hopefully fewer clueless 18 to 21 year old employees doing the piercing. I'm doing soap and water too. I did 24 hours of saline cleaning too though. My poor fresh can of saline ran out after that. So now I'm just doing soap and water 2x for now.

Best of luck!

When I had mine done at 11yo, the old lady who did it rubbed my earlobe in turn with a piece of ginger until it was very hot and numb, then bam she pierced it with the sharp end of a sleeper earring.

Once she closed the earring, she applied Mercurochrome to the piercing, gave me the instruction to turn the earring occasionally, and to continue to apply the red antiseptic for a few days.

So I walked around with the red stuff on my ears!

DK

Oh wow! I can't decide if that sounds awful or not!! Did it actually numb the ear that much?? I remember they will still telling us to turn them when I had mine done originally. But this time around they're telling me not to turn them. Just clean them with soap and water and leave them alone. Interestingly they also told me no peroxide or alcohol usage. I'm almost sure I remember being told peroxide was ok the first time too. But not anymore I guess xD Interesting how things have changed over the last 20ish years.

Do you have any earrings in the piercings now? A long time ago you would put in little gold ball posts until they were healed.
I’m excited for you!

Yes I have some piercing studs in. But I'm pretty sure it's just a little black CZ cap on a post with some kind of back cap.
With my history of infections in my ears even with 14K gold or higher the piercer decided we would try implant grade titanium and see how it goes. I was just sad they didn't sell any little regular plain old ball studs lol. According to him they don't really make those anymore. So I'm going to wear these for at least 12 weeks. If it's still feeling alright at that point I might get one more pair of titanium from them so I can switch these out and give the originals an extra good clean since I can't take these out until then. And honestly im not even sure how i would take them out! They have a strange type of back I've never used before. So going to have to have them help me anyway. Then in a year try platinum since that hasn't given me any skin rashes yet on my hands under my rings. Here's to hoping the titanium keeps working ok!

@stracci2000, said it all above. Have fun!

I plan on it! I kind of missed having earrings I already told my husband alllll about the earrings I would like eventually. It's kind of his fault I decided to redo them anyway. XD He says so often that I have other body parts besides fingers. Why not jewellery for those? Welp. Here we go lol.

i had an issue like Karl's post, first time around
i could not move my head it was so painful
except the doctor didnt want to take them out till the antibiotics had reduced some swelling

the next time i got them done i took the advice of an older friend and a week after the piercing by gun at the jewler i removed the studs and put some small round silver keepers in
it was a bit fiddly with a fresh wound but it was so much eaiser to cleanand i would twist them 2 or 3 times a day and i had no further issue

i also did this years latter with my 2nd and 3rd ear piercings

but covid has not been good to my piercings
masks and earings i have found to be just too hard and too risky

Oof that first time sounds like it was so scary! Im glad the other times were easier for you!

 

[dk168]

@MeowMeow the ginger did help with numbing the earlobe, however, they still hurt!

Hence they are my only piercing to date!

DK

 

[MeowMeow]

@MeowMeow the ginger did help with numbing the earlobe, however, they still hurt!

Hence they are my only piercing to date!

DK

I do not blame you one bit! If I can ever get these to heal properly. Especially the one on my right which I keep bumping with my shoulder because right handed. I am never getting another lmao. I admit I briefly thought of having a second done in a couple of years. But that was before I started bumping it accidentally.

 

[MeowMeow]

Oh man. I have big sads right now. So it's a little over 2 weeks now. I had to go last wedsday to urgent care because my right ear swelled more than it had been. I was given antibiotics and told they think I should remove the piercings. But if I wasn't going to yet I needed to take my antibiotics and use peroxide. So I did. Things improved. My right ear got much closer to my almost painless left ear. Both fronts near my cheeks are almost flat now instead of one flat and one swelled. Just my left is having an issue because I accidentally rolled over the prongs and that hurt it for sure

I went today for my follow up with my own doctor and she told me I should stop the peroxide immediately because it's red and swelled up behind my ears. Which makes 0 sense considering how much easier it is to touch and clean that area now compared to a week ago. A week ago i needed double aleve plus tylenol to do that. And now i can do it on just aleve. She also thinks I should remove them too She thinks the implant grade titanium is not working for me. Which is quite upsetting considering the pains I have taken to try and make sure these get healed. I'm going to make one last ditch effort before I do dump them and try one more thing. I visit a shop tommorow to get a second opinion and to make sure the lengths aren't keeping it from healing. Hoping not using peroxide might help reduce the apparent redness back there. But if making one switch out to one last metal does not help I am taking them out and probably have to give up because I don't want a Karl situation here

Told my husband too I hope I never need a new hip lol because everything making my ears and skin mad doesn't bode well for things like that x.x

 

[dk168]

Fingers firmly crossed for the piercing to heal soon!

I had a tattoo in my mid 40s, thinking the skin would be sufficiently saggy not to distort its shape too much as I grew older.

It hurt like hell and that's my only tattoo to date, and one has to know me very well in order to see it!

DK

 

[monarch64]

Oh man. I have big sads right now. So it's a little over 2 weeks now. I had to go last wedsday to urgent care because my right ear swelled more than it had been. I was given antibiotics and told they think I should remove the piercings. But if I wasn't going to yet I needed to take my antibiotics and use peroxide. So I did. Things improved. My right ear got much closer to my almost painless left ear. Both fronts near my cheeks are almost flat now instead of one flat and one swelled. Just my left is having an issue because I accidentally rolled over the prongs and that hurt it for sure

I went today for my follow up with my own doctor and she told me I should stop the peroxide immediately because it's red and swelled up behind my ears. Which makes 0 sense considering how much easier it is to touch and clean that area now compared to a week ago. A week ago i needed double aleve plus tylenol to do that. And now i can do it on just aleve. She also thinks I should remove them too She thinks the implant grade titanium is not working for me. Which is quite upsetting considering the pains I have taken to try and make sure these get healed. I'm going to make one last ditch effort before I do dump them and try one more thing. I visit a shop tommorow to get a second opinion and to make sure the lengths aren't keeping it from healing. Hoping not using peroxide might help reduce the apparent redness back there. But if making one switch out to one last metal does not help I am taking them out and probably have to give up because I don't want a Karl situation here

Told my husband too I hope I never need a new hip lol because everything making my ears and skin mad doesn't bode well for things like that x.x

I don’t think it’s the metal. I think it was washing twice a day with soap (meant to kill germs which can impede the healing process) and then using peroxide which again impedes the healing process by messing with healthy cells trying to develop. Tough situation all around.

When I tell you I had horrible issues with my first piercings at 8 years old…my earlobes never became infected, but my lymph nodes all over my neck and back of my head swelled up. I had to go through a bunch of blood work/testing because my pediatrician was worried I had Hodgkins! Very scary. I took out the earrings and all was fine. Mine were done with surgical steel back in the 1980s. I later switched to nothing but 14k gold and can wear those and other precious metals ok now.

My daughter just decided at 10 that she wanted her ears pierced. We used 14k gold piercing studs and she had minimal issues. Mostly the side she slept on got a little sore a few times but otherwise she healed really well. We used a cotton ball to saturate the piercing solution and then sort of dripped it onto her earrings. Not a lot of contact, no turning, just worked them straight back and forth once a day. She has now switched to 14k yg 3mm balls and that’s it for the next several months while we make sure she’s Really Actually Healing.

 

[MeowMeow]

I don’t think it’s the metal. I think it was washing twice a day with soap (meant to kill germs which can impede the healing process) and then using peroxide which again impedes the healing process by messing with healthy cells trying to develop. Tough situation all around.

When I tell you I had horrible issues with my first piercings at 8 years old…my earlobes never became infected, but my lymph nodes all over my neck and back of my head swelled up. I had to go through a bunch of blood work/testing because my pediatrician was worried I had Hodgkins! Very scary. I took out the earrings and all was fine. Mine were done with surgical steel back in the 1980s. I later switched to nothing but 14k gold and can wear those and other precious metals ok now.

My daughter just decided at 10 that she wanted her ears pierced. We used 14k gold piercing studs and she had minimal issues. Mostly the side she slept on got a little sore a few times but otherwise she healed really well. We used a cotton ball to saturate the piercing solution and then sort of dripped it onto her earrings. Not a lot of contact, no turning, just worked them straight back and forth once a day. She has now switched to 14k yg 3mm balls and that’s it for the next several months while we make sure she’s Really Actually Healing.

Honestly I am quite clueless at this point. The piercer told me no turning or jostling them and use soap and water. Some saline rinse is fine but I should use mostly non antibacterial, non scented soap and water only. The soap I use on my face since I have prissy skin that hates everything should have been fine he said. My personal doctor agreed with that advice today. The nurse practioner only agreed that she thinks the studs need to come out. She said rubbing alcohol or peroxide and meds.

I may try using unscented baby wash for my next 2 cleanings instead of my soap and see if that helps. But other than re trying yellow gold or the little plastic post covers I'm just not sure what else to do. My doctor claimed I have swelling in my face and she thinks the titanium needs to go. So im definitely moving up my visit to a piercer from Saturday to tommorow while my daughter goes to therapy. If they agree with my doctor I'll be changing them out tommorow.

My original piercings that healed fine were with 14k yellow gold balls. Just after a few years of continuing to wear the same gold colour and karatage. I started getting infections in my earlobes and had to take them out every so often. And during one of these times one side closed before i could put it back in there. Eventually the other did too. I also struggle with wearing gold or silver on my skin in general unless it's not for very long. I get rashy and itchy underneath it after a few hours. Platinum is the only thing that hasn't got rashy so far but nobody thinks putting it in there is a good idea

I'm glad your daughter seems to be doing well though! Hopefully it continues!! Hopefully you have some fun earring plans for her in the future!

Fingers firmly crossed for the piercing to heal soon!

I had a tattoo in my mid 40s, thinking the skin would be sufficiently saggy not to distort its shape too much as I grew older.

It hurt like hell and that's my only tattoo to date, and one has to know me very well in order to see it!

DK

Haha I honestly can't blame you. I can't even bring myself to get one. Even though I know what I would want if I ever did xD

 

[Begonia]

Try sea salt soaks with real sea salt (not iodized) and warm distilled water. I fill a low tea cup and lay on my side and soak the ear twice a day, and then rinse and dry thoroughly. I also shower daily and wash them with Dr. Bonners baby soap, rinse thoroughly and dry thoroughly (I do this with a hair dryer set on low low heat). All this done daily, which is a huge commitment for the first few months, or when I'm battling irritation/infection.

Also, try not to sleep on the piercing. You can get a travel pillow or a "pillow with a hole in the middle" (orderable on Amazon). My piercings don't heal or heal improperly when slept on with pressure.

I stay away from hp, alcohol, tea tree, dettol etc etc.

 

[elizat]

I don’t think it’s the metal. I think it was washing twice a day with soap (meant to kill germs which can impede the healing process) and then using peroxide which again impedes the healing process by messing with healthy cells trying to develop. Tough situation all around.

I think this is true. Not that it's the same, but my dog is very old and gets benign growths. Anyway, one was somehow bitten by his brother and I tried to clean it and used soap and water, plus hydrogen peroxide multiple times over the course of a few days. It got worse. My vet told me not to do that again, that hydrogen peroxide over and over in a cleaned wound is contrary to the normal healing process and makes it worse, and causes the wound to not heal or heal slowly.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Luck, luck, luck!!

Here's some sage advice from the AAD. You can also use a saline or antiseptic wound solution (not rubbing alcohol or peroxide though, as they can irritate the piercings).

Caring for new piercings

These dermatologists' tips can help you keep your new piercing clean, prevent closing, and heal after a piercing.

www.aad.org

 

[Autumn in New England]

I've had the first 3 lobe piercings since I was a kid (ahh Claire's...), but did the cartilage ones myself (helix and orbital conch). Pop... right on through... no numbing... lots of crunching. I don't recommend it. lol I have a bunch more on the other side (the 3 lobes again and then a tragus and upper daith). Hang in there! They will eventually stabilize with proper care. And pretty, pretty earrings you shall have!!

 

[MeowMeow]

Try sea salt soaks with real sea salt (not iodized) and warm distilled water. I fill a low tea cup and lay on my side and soak the ear twice a day, and then rinse and dry thoroughly. I also shower daily and wash them with Dr. Bonners baby soap, rinse thoroughly and dry thoroughly (I do this with a hair dryer set on low low heat). All this done daily, which is a huge commitment for the first few months, or when I'm battling irritation/infection.

Also, try not to sleep on the piercing. You can get a travel pillow or a "pillow with a hole in the middle" (orderable on Amazon). My piercings don't heal or heal improperly when slept on with pressure.

I stay away from hp, alcohol, tea tree, dettol etc etc.

I will have to check my salt and see if it is or not. How do you not get the liquid pouring into your inner ear for soaks? My lobes don't hang much so I've had to do my soap cleanings in the shower every time so I can make sure the soap comes off well But at this point I would be willing to try that method for soak if it helps. I had to get up in the middle of the night last night because my prongs got caught again after being able to not get caught for 6 days x.x and soaked some cotton balls in saline rinse and pressed them around the post front and back to try and clean it out until I can shower this morning. Thank you for the soap reccomendation! Nobody had any idea what I should get so I'll buy some for tonight for sure. Maybe my cerave is irritating somehow.

I think this is true. Not that it's the same, but my dog is very old and gets benign growths. Anyway, one was somehow bitten by his brother and I tried to clean it and used soap and water, plus hydrogen peroxide multiple times over the course of a few days. It got worse. My vet told me not to do that again, that hydrogen peroxide over and over in a cleaned wound is contrary to the normal healing process and makes it worse, and causes the wound to not heal or heal slowly.

Oof yeah that was what my original piercer said too. I'm not sure why the nurse practioner told me otherwise. But I've definitely stopped using it since the doctor said to stop. And I'm glad because it was giving me raised white burns on my index and thumb even just using it 2x a day only. I'm hoping this was part of why the back looked so bad to her and not the metal but not sure.

Luck, luck, luck!!

Here's some sage advice from the AAD. You can also use a saline or antiseptic wound solution (not rubbing alcohol or peroxide though, as they can irritate the piercings).

Caring for new piercings

These dermatologists' tips can help you keep your new piercing clean, prevent closing, and heal after a piercing.

www.aad.org

Thank you! That is a good list! Maybe I might try the vaseline tip if I can get my ear to improve first. It's the only thing on that list I haven't tried.

I've had the first 3 lobe piercings since I was a kid (ahh Claire's...), but did the cartilage ones myself (helix and orbital conch). Pop... right on through... no numbing... lots of crunching. I don't recommend it. lol I have a bunch more on the other side (the 3 lobes again and then a tragus and upper daith). Hang in there! They will eventually stabilize with proper care. And pretty, pretty earrings you shall have!!

Oh I hope so! I really loved wearing earrings in the past. I was so upset when one of them closed up after all the effort healing them properly the first time. Yours are all so lovely!

 

[RMOO]

I'll throw this out there, because I have not seen it mentioned yet. When I got my third lobe piercing, I went to a tattoo shop for the first time (first two piercings were done at Claire's in my teens.) He did not have any posts, so he pierced with a small hoop. I admit it was uglier that a post would have been, but it did make cleaning easier because there was nothing to get behind to clean or trap moisture. And, it was just as easy to spin/rotate the hoop, as spinning a post. Good luck!!

 

[Tonks]

Oh, gosh @MeowMeow , I’m sorry you’re having trouble!

One other possibility to consider to help your ears heal. We have been through it with my daughter and while she does have some metal allergies (nickel is an absolute non-starter for her, and also a couple of alloys that you can find in some golds), we have discovered that above all, what her ears cannot stand is any sort of pressure. So stud earring backs are only ok if *super* lose (like on the last locking notch). La pousette backs worn loosely are better. Hoops are better. French wires are good, I think lever backs would be a no-go.

We went through all of this trial and error (for YEARS) and then a female relative told me she has the same issue. She just won’t wear studs.

What this looked like on my daughter was her ears filling up with a yucky white substance (sorry, but trying to give helpful info) and becoming really super tender.

If this is what ails you I’m not sure how to advise you to get through the healing process where you have to keep something in them other than to wear whatever it is as loosely as possible and maybe don’t sleep on your side.

 

[MeowMeow]

I'll throw this out there, because I have not seen it mentioned yet. When I got my third lobe piercing, I went to a tattoo shop for the first time (first two piercings were done at Claire's in my teens.) He did not have any posts, so he pierced with a small hoop. I admit it was uglier that a post would have been, but it did make cleaning easier because there was nothing to get behind to clean or trap moisture. And, it was just as easy to spin/rotate the hoop, as spinning a post. Good luck!!

You know I'll bring that up as a question when I go tonight. I went to a tattoo shop as well this time around hoping it would work out better for me than the gun did. Clearly not but I never thought of that. I don't remember if all the infections I used to get were when I would wear the small 14k gold hoops or if they were mostly with 14k gold studs. My original ones that healed were when I was 11 and closed somewhere around 18ish and 31 depending on which hole it was. Thank you for the advice. It seems like it's worth an ask!

Oh, gosh @MeowMeow , I’m sorry you’re having trouble!

One other possibility to consider to help your ears heal. We have been through it with my daughter and while she does have some metal allergies (nickel is an absolute non-starter for her, and also a couple of alloys that you can find in some golds), we have discovered that above all, what her ears cannot stand is any sort of pressure. So stud earring backs are only ok if *super* lose (like on the last locking notch). La pousette backs worn loosely are better. Hoops are better. French wires are good, I think lever backs would be a no-go.

We went through all of this trial and error (for YEARS) and then a female relative told me she has the same issue. She just won’t wear studs.

What this looked like on my daughter was her ears filling up with a yucky white substance (sorry, but trying to give helpful info) and becoming really super tender.

If this is what ails you I’m not sure how to advise you to get through the healing process where you have to keep something in them other than to wear whatever it is as loosely as possible and maybe don’t sleep on your side.

Honestly this could be going on with me partially. Before my antibiotics I had normal coloured front of the ears. Still do. but I could feel swelling that got worse at the part close to your jaw bone I guess and the irritation was not getting less. There's been no leaking or bleeding or anything. Just soreness and redness at the backs that should have been much better but isn't except in about half of it. I can easily clean the fronts. Not totally without pain. The back of the front still hurts where I've gotten both sides pulled on at this point. And the backs are generally much less sore to touch if people aren't dumb enough to try and grab near the post. I can rub around and up on it if I am gentle and it doesn't hurt. I currently have on partial screwback. The kind with a smooth post until close to the end and it has a screw back end with a cover on it so you don't get poked. But you could be right. Maybe this style is trapping water in there somehow. I'll be keeping your post and RMOO's to show the lady tonight. I appreciate you both thinking of it!

The manager of the shop im going to seems to think I might not have gotten long enough posts but im not sure about that considering when I use a cottonball to press saline into the back gently I totally see some post. It could also be the prongs not allowing me to get better too in this case but considering I kind of feel the post every so often i kind of doubt it. It's a super wierd feeling. Like knowing I have an IV stuck in my hand, which I struggle with too. They have to do numbing shots because I feel it so much the whole time it's in. I just don't remember feeling my earrings at all once they started healing when i wore gold, let alone in the IV way either.

And I am definitely not sleeping on my stomach or side. Which means I'm getting crappy sleep lately because I'm a huge stomach sleeper. But I want my ears to heal so I'm on my back for the foreseeable future

 

[MeowMeow]

Ok so I am being bad double posting again but I saw the second opinion piercer tonight while my kid went to her appointment and they said I had to take them out right away like my doctor said yesterday. They aren't positive the post in my lobe was an issue because the fronts looked so good and the earrings twisted when dampened no problem. I could have sworn I was told all the parts were implant grade titanium but my inflamed back ears make them think the backing could have been something else that I am quite allergic to. My skin was trying to reject them the whole time, and if I had kept them in much longer I would have ended up an emergency room case. Both earrings were bent partial screwbacks and very difficult to remove. One side had two bends so that will be fun trying to heal I'll probably be calling my doctor tommorow to see what she thinks if I might need more antibiotics since everything closed within seconds and I'm kinda worried stuff got trapped in there. It's quite stingy. Almost more uncomfortable than they were in. But I am not allowed to even think about trying again for a couple months to let everything heal over. Sigh

 

[Autumn in New England]

Ok so I am being bad double posting again but I saw the second opinion piercer tonight while my kid went to her appointment and they said I had to take them out right away like my doctor said yesterday. They aren't positive the post in my lobe was an issue because the fronts looked so good and the earrings twisted when dampened no problem. I could have sworn I was told all the parts were implant grade titanium but my inflamed back ears make them think the backing could have been something else that I am quite allergic to. My skin was trying to reject them the whole time, and if I had kept them in much longer I would have ended up an emergency room case. Both earrings were bent partial screwbacks and very difficult to remove. One side had two bends so that will be fun trying to heal I'll probably be calling my doctor tommorow to see what she thinks if I might need more antibiotics since everything closed within seconds and I'm kinda worried stuff got trapped in there. It's quite stingy. Almost more uncomfortable than they were in. But I am not allowed to even think about trying again for a couple months to let everything heal over. Sigh

Aww I'm so sorry to hear that, but your health is what's most important. So let your poor little lobies heal, and when you try again, perhaps surgical steel should be your starter studs. That's all I ever wore for the first couple of months. Good luck!

 

[MeowMeow]

Aww I'm so sorry to hear that, but your health is what's most important. So let your poor little lobies heal, and when you try again, perhaps surgical steel should be your starter studs. That's all I ever wore for the first couple of months. Good luck!

Thank you very much! I appreciate you!

 

[Begonia]

I

I will have to check my salt and see if it is or not. How do you not get the liquid pouring into your inner ear for soaks? My lobes don't hang much so I've had to do my soap cleanings in the shower every time so I can make sure the soap comes off well But at this point I would be willing to try that method for soak if it helps. I had to get up in the middle of the night last night because my prongs got caught again after being able to not get caught for 6 days x.x and soaked some cotton balls in saline rinse and pressed them around the post front and back to try and clean it out until I can shower this morning. Thank you for the soap reccomendation! Nobody had any idea what I should get so I'll buy some for tonight for sure. Maybe my cerave is irritating somehow.



Oof yeah that was what my original piercer said too. I'm not sure why the nurse practioner told me otherwise. But I've definitely stopped using it since the doctor said to stop. And I'm glad because it was giving me raised white burns on my index and thumb even just using it 2x a day only. I'm hoping this was part of why the back looked so bad to her and not the metal but not sure.



Thank you! That is a good list! Maybe I might try the vaseline tip if I can get my ear to improve first. It's the only thing on that list I haven't tried.



Oh I hope so! I really loved wearing earrings in the past. I was so upset when one of them closed up after all the effort healing them properly the first time. Yours are all so lovely!

If you lay on your side, soak for 10 mins, and then slowly get up, most of the salt water will drain onto the towel you have laid underneath. Then I dry the ear outside and in with sterile gauze, and use the hairdryer the rest of the way. It's hard core, I know, a big time commitment twice a day, but I find it really helps when you're in a healing crisis. I'm also in my 50's and have to take aftercare very seriously as healing can be slower.

I've come back from some nasty swollen oozing ears using sea salt soaks. The sea salt kills bacteria and is soothing on enflamed tissue. Remember to rinse with plain water however, as tissue doesn't like salt left on it. Dry dry dry. Bacteria can grow in a moist and warm environment.